Another of our new big echium hybrids. In spring, countless buds sprout sideways from the trunk, they turn upwards, and then become thick, stout, strong, vertical columns. Tightly-clustered sprays of white flowers cloak them in early summer, and continue to slowly open from the the bottom upwards for many months. The flowers on this variety should be even more compact than on its relatives as it has inherited this characteristic from one of its parents, Echium wildprettii! If deadheaded after flowering, numerous new shoots will usually appear around the remaining stems to continue the display ... Learn More

Stout, deepest rose-pink spikes of massed flowers, each with protruding stamens holding bright blue pollen, arise from prostrate rosettes of radiating, furry, narrow grey leaves, and if kept quite dry it is quite incredibly frost-hardy. This challenge from the high volcanic slopes of the Canary Islands is certainly the most sought-after of all echium species, and indeed one of the most beautiful and dramatic of all the world's flowers, and success will bring crowds flocking to see it. NOTE: This rare plant produces very few viable seeds which must be collected individually by hand as they ri ... Learn More

The amazing show-stopper, Echium wildpretii, is one of the world's most impressive plants with its 3 to 4 foot spike of raspberry-red flowers erupting from a swan's nest of thin, grey hairy leaves. But it can sometimes succumb to frost and winter wet. So we back-crossed it with one of its bigger and tougher children, "Pink Fountain", itself a cross between the relatively hardy Echium pininana and Echium wildpretii! And this unbelievable 4 to 6 foot spectacle was the result. Fat, bee-magnet spikes are thickly crowded with dark pink or strawberry-red flowers, and blue-pollen-powdered anthers. I ... Learn More

This lovely diminutive native of of the Dalmatian mountains makes compact tufts of narrow grass-like leaves, 2 to 4 inches in length, with drooping flower-stems which become erect later. Violet-blue starry bell-shaped flowers appear in clusters in July and August. Rarely seen, this tough little gem is perfect for the alpine garden or front of border. ... Learn More

This bellflower relative is a rock garden plant that is also suitable for growing on the top of a wall or in an alpine trough. It makes low tufts of narrow, grass-like leaves, with short prostrate stems holding clusters or balls of violet-blue bells in early summer. This lovely effect resembles a mound of grass surrounded by a ring of flowers. ... Learn More

Short stems arise from a tiny grassy-leaved tuft of silver-blue foliage in spring, supporting beautiful blue bells that are very large for the size of the plant. This bone-hardy rare endemic from the Komovi mountains of Montenegro is probably best grown in a trough or in a site in the rock garden, where it will not be overwhelmed by neighboring plants. ... Learn More

One of the very smallest species, this makes clumps of thin, grass-like foliage, topped with blue, skywards-facing bell-flowers. This prize-winner is absolutely superb in a pan, scree or rock garden. ... Learn More

From an inconspicuous green tuft of grassy leaves, sprout six inch stems bearing clusters of large, bright purple flowers, each blooming spike being around two inches across. This plant, a native of the Balkans, demands a location with good drainage such as a pot, rock garden, or alpine trough. ... Learn More

This charming member of the Saxifrage family has deep green, notched and lobed, rounded basal leaves. Pale Yellow-green flowers open, each bonnet-shaped calyx being cream coloured and trimmed with five tiny pure white petals that are lobed or fringed. Found on the Pacific coast of USA and Canada, it is clump-forming, spreading by rhizomes, but is not invasive. ... Learn More

Easily the bluest blue leaf of any plant we grow, this outstanding grass is native to the mountains of Southern Chile and Argentina where it forms a slow-growing, positively non-invasive, well-behaved clump of beautiful silvery, chalky, metallic-blue leaves, bearing taller stems of blue-grey flowers in early summer. It is best grown on its own with no surrounding competition in a well-drained rock garden or raised bed where it usually remains evergreen in mild winter regions, but foliage may also be cut back hard in severe winters. Very, very few good fertile seeds are ever collected here, and ... Learn More

An unusually large flowered form of the "Chilean Firebush" collected as seed on the banks of Lago Cucao, Chiloe Island, during our 1994 Chile Expedition (RB94051). As this seed has wild diversity you will find that the clusters of tubular flowers that appear in early summer vary from crimson to an unforgettable bright red. Many plants grown in the UK are cuttings from the same plant but this is new blood! ... Learn More

This new and intriguing annual produces a great profusion of sprays of fluffy, flame-scarlet-red tassels, blooming on the tops of tall, thin stems that sway in the breeze all summer long from June to September. It is perfect where you need a splash of colour in your garden, where it adds texture, graceful form and movement. It is also excellent for cutting to brighten up your living room. ... Learn More

A fast growing tree legume from tropical America with small white flower heads that appear in compact round heads. Preferring a moist, warm climate, it grows in a wide variety of soil conditions. The large seeds pods are semicircular and resemble a elephant or monkey ear, hence the 'ear tree' as it is more commonly known. It is the national tree of Costa Rica, where the seed pods are widely used as a food source for livestock. ... Learn More

This absolutely diminutive, rather rare, summer-flowering perennial is found in the alpine screes and rocky areas from 900–1800m altitude in the mountains of New Zealand's South Island from Nelson to Arthur's Pass where it makes a prostrate creeping carpet of tiny succulent leaves spangled with almost stemless, pretty pink flowers. Later, the curious, erect seed pods are formed, from which the tiny gossamer seed-parachutes are soon blown aloft, but rarely to become a pest! ... Learn More

Greyish narrow leaves and massed spires of rosy pink blooms on this dainty Russian plant. Flowers for a long period in midsummer. Neither weedy nor invasive. "A beautiful plant in full flower." (G.S.T.) ... Learn More